Speaking of Feng Yucai, although he has an elderly grandmother, the old lady is in good health, able to run, walk, and cook.
While Feng Yucai went out to work, the old lady stayed home doing handicrafts to supplement the family income.
Fang Shilan, however, was not so lucky.
Fang's father used to be a middle school teacher, but later, for reasons unknown, he hanged himself.
Fang's mother's health had been poor since she was young. She was sickly every day and could not work or even do housework properly.
During Fang Shilan's time in the countryside, her mother relied on her family for support.
However, her family had three brothers and their wives. At first, Fang's mother had some property and her life was relatively easy. Later, she squandered all her money and her life became difficult.
When Fang Shilan returned to the city, her mother was barely alive and was left to die in a sunless room.
She brought her mother out, enduring the disdain of her three aunts, and forcibly took away ten kilograms of rice, because the mother and daughter also needed to eat!
Living a normal life isn't just about rice; you also need diesel, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar—what can you do without any of them?
Besides, Fang's mother is a frequent sufferer of medicine!
Fang Shilan did any kind of work so that she and her son could survive.
She helps out at the breakfast stall in the early morning, resells vegetables around 8 or 9 a.m., and sets up a stove and pot on her sardine cart at night to sell porridge.
Fang Shilan is like a spinning top, constantly being whipped around by life.
Once, Fang Shilan went to the wholesale market to stock up on vegetables. As usual, she picked out the big, green vegetables and threw them into her basket.
The vegetable vendor smiled cryptically at her, "You little shrew, you're really good at this! You pick the biggest vegetables, remove even the smallest yellow leaves, and offer the lowest price. You're quite the businessman!"
The other people who came to buy vegetables also joined in the jeering and mocking of Fang Shilan.
Fang Shilan acted as if she hadn't heard anything, and quickly picked up the plump greens she had her eye on and put them into her basket.
"Weigh it!"
The vendor weighed her basket, removed the husk, and then calculated the price: "Three dollars and sixty-eight cents, I'll give you three dollars and sixty cents!"
Fang Shilan frowned and asked, "I just saw that the scale weighs sixty jin. Why is it so expensive? Isn't it five cents a jin?"
The vendor grinned and said, "Little girl, you've been picking and choosing, and you've taken all the good vegetables. The ones that sell to others are cheaper, so yours will have to be more expensive."
Fang Shilan naturally disagreed, "It's always been like this, and the price hasn't gone up!"
The vendor sneered, "I used to be happy, but now I'm not, so I'm raising prices!"
The others stopped picking and choosing their food and all gathered around the two to watch the spectacle.
Fang Shilan gripped the bamboo basket full of vegetables tightly, the veins on her hands bulging, revealing her current mood.
The vendor shouted to the people around him, "Everyone, you be the judge! I've always taken good care of this girl. All I did that day was suggest she go on a blind date with my brother, and she refused! Such an ungrateful person, so shameless, and she even came here to pick out vegetables!"
Everyone around understood that Hai San was angry.
Although Hai San, the vegetable vendor, didn't have a formal job, he made a lot of money selling vegetables and his family was quite well-off.
Immediately, someone shouted, "Hai San's family has a lot of money! Why do you, a little girl, have to get up early and work late selling vegetables? Marrying Hai San's younger brother would be much better!"
"That's right, you'll never have to worry about food or drink, you could live like a pampered mistress!"
"..."
Fang Shilan's eyebrows twitched incessantly as some unpleasant memories resurfaced, leaving her momentarily stunned.
Seeing that she didn't react, the others talked even more enthusiastically, spitting as they spoke, forgetting all about selling vegetables.
One of them whispered, "Hai Si had polio when he was a child. One leg is thick and the other is thin. He's also not very bright and seems a bit slow!"
However, his voice was quickly drowned out by the other sounds.
Hai San smiled and pulled Fang Shilan, "If you come home with me now for a blind date, I'll give you this basket of vegetables for free today."
The moment his withered, calloused hands touched Fang Shilan, she immediately shuddered, goosebumps rising all over her body.
"Don't touch me! You filthy pervert! Get away!"
Fang Shilan acted like a madwoman, throwing the vegetable basket she was holding directly at Hai San, scattering vegetables all over the ground.
Hai San was completely bewildered. "You, you crazy woman! What are you doing?"
He rolled up his sleeves, spat on the ground, and was about to hit Fang Shilan.
It was at this time that Feng Yucai met Fang Shilan.
He later told Fang Shilan that at that time, Fang Shilan was like an enraged kitten, with her fur standing on end, her back arched, and constantly baring her teeth at the people around her.
She looked both adorable and pitiful.
Feng Yucai said all the right things and compensated Hai San with 3.3 yuan and 68 cents before he was able to save Fang Shilan.
Feng Yucai tried to pull Fang Shilan away, but Fang Shilan was quite stubborn and insisted that since they had paid, they had to take the vegetables with them.
Having no other choice, Feng Yucai could only patiently help Fang Shilan pick up the sixty jin of vegetables and put them back into the vegetable basket before leaving with a clear conscience.
After leaving the crowd, Fang Shilan first thanked Feng Yucai very sincerely, and then found a place to set up her stall.
"Feng Yucai, give me an address! I'll sell all the vegetables in a bit and then pay you back!"
Fang Shilan arranged the bok choy and covered it with a damp towel. "Don't be fooled by the fact that the price of the third picture is a penny more than usual. Their vegetables are really good, and they always sell out."
Feng Yucai was momentarily stunned by her radiant appearance.
"Don't buy vegetables from picture three next time. I also deliver vegetables now, so I can sell them to you at a lower price."
Feng Yucai didn't rush home, but stayed with Fang Shilan while she sold vegetables.
By one o'clock in the afternoon, all the vegetables on the stall had been sold out.
Fang Shilan counted out three yuan and sixty-eight cents and returned it to Feng Yucai, then picked up her vegetable basket and went to catch up on another job.
Watching Fang Shilan's slender figure quickly disappear into the crowd, Feng Yucai slapped his forehead in annoyance. How could he have forgotten to ask Fang Shilan where she lived!
How are we supposed to contact each other now?
For the next few days, Feng Yucai came here every day to sell vegetables, but he never saw Fang Shilan again.
Feng Yucai was sometimes a little dazed, wondering if what he had done to Fang Shilan that day was just his imagination.
It wasn't until Fang Shilan reappeared and bought vegetables from Feng Yucai's wholesale supplier that the two reconnected.
Feng Yucai joked with her, "You can't do business like that, working three days and resting two!"
Fang Shilan gave a wry smile, "My mother has been hospitalized these past few days, and I've been busy taking care of her at the hospital."
"Huh? Which hospital? What's wrong? Is it serious?"
Fang Shilan sighed, "It's an old problem. Every year around this time, I have to stay in the hospital for a month or two."
The hospital is comfortable, but the medical expenses are a real worry.
While her mother was sleeping, Fang Shilan quickly came over to sell vegetables and earn money.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com